I am confused i went to see a second opinion and was told i had arthritis but the one that operated told me i didn't how can that be?

Depends: Arthritis is an overused term that some doctors throw out there for unexplained joint pain. By definition it is damage to the articulate surface or hyaline cartilage. Indeed the best way to determine it is by looking at it. So if you want to bet one way, i would lean to the doc who actually looked inside.

Things change: Things can change with time. Every doctor has a different criteria for diagnosing arthritis and there can be some disagreement in the beginning before any xray changes occur. But as it progresses and xray changes occur there will be less disagreement.